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Voices That Haunt Us

It is nearing the end of October. This is the time of year that you look around and you see Halloween decor everywhere you look. As I have looked around at all the spider webs, ghosts, witches hats and bats, it pretty much creeps me out. I don’t like scary things. I have had enough scare in my life to last me a lifetime.

When life has given you a major scare, there are always haunting voices that can follow you the rest of your life.These voices like to pop up at night. These voices like to come when you are afraid about something else. These voices like to come when you are reliving a nightmare. These voices pop up when you feel alone. These voices are heard only by you.

There are voices that haunt me as a wife, a mom, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a pastor’s wife and a paraplegic. Have you ever heard any of these voices? How about things like this: “You will never be able to….”, “If they really loved you…”, “I never thought my kid would do that…”, “You aren’t talented…or beautiful…or inspiring…or creative…enough”, “You aren’t enough…”, “You will never get over this…”, “You are a failure…”, “You look stupid and they will laugh at you…” and on and on and on. These voices play inside our heads sometimes like a broken record that never, ever quits and it can almost drive us crazy!

How do we handle this? How do we silence the voices? How do we stop listening to the negative words that ring only in our heads? How do we not allow these voices to creep outside of us and haunt our entire homes with gloominess and discouragement?

How do you enter a dark room? What is the first thing you do?

First of all, you must know where you are going.

In my house, I know where all of the light switches are located. I also know where my candles and matches are in case the electricity is out. When it is pitch black in my house, I start making my way slowly and cautiously towards the source of light. I don’t go fast because it is dark and scary and there are a lot of obstacles that I could get hurt on. I carefully and methodically make my way to a light switch.

So it is in our lives. Get in charge of that voice and tell it that you know where the source of your light is. You know which direction you are headed and you do not have time to be tripped up over panicking. You slow down, take your time, and keep your focus and concentration on which way you are heading.

Secondly, once you get to the source, turn it on!

You can make your way along a dark hall to find a light switch and then stand there next to it all night! Unless you flip on the switch, you will not have light!

So it is in our lives. We have a precious source of Light. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world!” We can know Jesus is near us, but we should call out to Him! We should ask Him to please illuminate my life again! I remember the Psalmist praying, “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation!” You know what he was doing? He was turning on the Light! He was asking God to fill His heart once more with the warmth of sunshine and salvation. We waste much of this solution by just not stopping and praying to The Lord and asking for His leading in my life. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. “ There does not have to be darkness when the Light of the World is in your hands. Open it up and turn it on!

Lastly, we have made our way through the dark house, carefully positioned ourselves near the source of light, and then we flip the light switch on!A whole new view opens up before us. What once was dark and scary, is now bright and safe. What once was the cause of our careful steps and stumbling, has now revealed to us that it was safe after all. What once made a place look so terrifying, now looks warm and inviting.

What made the difference? The Light.

These haunting voices that love the dark, the unknown, and the fearful dwelling places are deceiving us. They are trying to give us a facade so that we will stay in their bondage. Every lie they have whispered and I have chosen to believe has kept me prisoner to my own imaginations. This cannot continue.

As I look around at the scary stuff I see around me this month, I am reminded that fear is not my friend. It is my enemy. My God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). A sound mind. A sound mind does NOT hear voices in her head.

May God help each of us to know the way we walk, to find the Light, and to let HIM shine through us!

A Little About Me

In March of 2009, while expecting my 6th baby, I contracted Transverse Myelitis - a rare illness that left me paralyzed from my ribs down. It has changed my life in many horrible and wonderful ways. I love to talk about it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.

It is always raw and real around here as I share my work in advocacy and accessibility, my heart for the spiritual lessons learned, music that speaks my soul, and my love for my home and family.

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Can I Help?

When I think of John Walton, I tend to think of Genesis as it seems those titles have received more press. He is a widely-published, influential author, and I felt it would be interesting to check out this work on Job in the NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC) series. What I found upon opening this work … Continue reading Job (NIVAC) by Walton

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